Gracie and Joe. ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Colle.

With all the amazing movies from 2023, who knew my favorite would be released not in theaters, but soft-launched on Netflix. “May December” Is Todd Haynes’ newest movie, with a star-studded cast. It tells the story of an actress (Natalie Portman) who prepares for her role in her next movie by meeting and studying its subject, a passive woman (Julianne Moore) whose infamy comes from her controversial relationship with her husband, which started when she was 36 and he was 13. Inspired by the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau, this film takes the style of an intimate examination of the psychological implications that come with what seems, on the surface, to be a misunderstood love story, but is really a lie. It’s incredibly well done, the acting is phenomenal, and the entire story is creative and entertaining. 

The movie starts by introducing us to the characters, only letting us really know them partway into the story when we find out about Gracie’s past, the premise for the movie. Sometime in the ’90s, Gracie had an “affair” with Joe (Charles Melton), a boy she met at the pet store. The problem is that the boy was only in 7th grade, and she was a grown woman. The story blew up, and years later, the industry is turning it into the next big flick. The movie follows Elizabeth, a famous actress who shadows the daily lives of the infamous couple and their kids, hoping to get a better read on Gracie’s character for the movie. 

Joe and Gracie’s relationship is presented as loving, healthy, and happy. It makes us question our morals and existing ideas of what makes a strong relationship. We might even start to accept the couple and their situation. But slowly, the real truth is revealed. Tension in the relationship is high, and Elizabeth’s presence creates even more tension. Her questions make the couple crack, and Joe reconsiders what the real base of their relationship is. The implications are obvious to everyone but Gracie and Joe: that she groomed him, indoctrinated him, and essentially trapped him because of her pregnancy. Gracie sees it as love, in its purest form, something she didn’t have in her previous marriage. Joe sees it as love because he was told it was love. Due to different personal weaknesses, both convince themselves that their love is true. Greg MacAthur, a critic from screenrant.com, writes, “May December is largely about the main characters’ inability to look at the truth of themselves out of a fear that it would shock, disgust, or destroy them, something that Elizabeth, Gracie, and Joe are all equally guilty of.”

Todd Haynes, the director, is not well known, but people might recognize his name from movies such as Safe (1995) and Velvet Goldmine (1998). Todd Haynes’ films take you on a rollercoaster ride, feeling comfort in one scene, and anxiety in the next. He also has a special talent for creating in-depth symbolism with imagery and elements of the movie. For example, in “May December,” Joe finds happiness raising monarch butterflies, and one of Gracie’s hobbies is hunting. The butterflies represent Joe’s sudden metamorphosis from immaturity to maturity. Gracie’s hunting represents her predatory nature. 

As far as the acting, it could not have been cast better. Moore plays her character perfectly, with a discomposed manner, as if Gracie is trying to perform for Elizabeth, but her true nature keeps showing through in small, passive-aggressive comments. Melton, who you might know as Reggie from “Riverdale,” seized this opportunity to showcase his versatility and talent. Joe’s character is also putting on a facade, and as the film goes on, it is more obvious that he is repressing the trauma of his experience with Gracie. Joe is stuck in the mind of the teen he was when the trauma happened, and it takes a talented actor to make the audience see that. Portman’s character is who we side with, a fellow observer and student of Gracie and Joe. It isn’t immediately obvious that she is flawed too: her method acting techniques we see throughout the movie mask her cold-heartedness as professionalism, which causes the people around her to get hurt. This is a career-defining performance from Portman. Elizabeth puts everything she has into becoming her character, becoming Gracie, and there’s an honesty to this that comes from Portman’s own experience as an actress. 

“May December” is presented as a story about people lying to each other, but in reality, all of them are lying to themselves. It’s a warning from Haynes to us about how we should really be looking at ourselves and the people around us.